Nicólas Maduro Challenges US Block on Accessing Venezuelan Funds for Legal Defense

A judge in the United States has raised concerns about the government’s rationale for prohibiting former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro from accessing his nation’s funds to cover legal costs in his drug trafficking case. Yet, the judge has decided not to drop the charges on this ground.

During a hearing in Manhattan’s federal court on Thursday, Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, appeared wearing beige prison uniforms. This session comes over two months after they were unexpectedly captured in Caracas by US military forces and transported to New York.

At ages 63 and 69, respectively, Maduro and Flores have entered not guilty pleas to charges, including conspiracy to commit narcoterrorism. For now, they remain detained in Brooklyn as they await trial.

The couple sought to have the charges dismissed by US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, arguing that being unable to use Venezuelan public funds impairs their sixth amendment right to select their preferred legal representation.

They had asked US district judge Alvin Hellerstein to dismiss the charges, saying their inability to rely on Venezuelan public funds was interfering with their right to have a lawyer of their choosing under the sixth amendment of the US constitution.

Their lawyers have said Maduro and Flores cannot afford to pay their defence fees on their own.

Prosecutor Kyle Wirshba said the ‌US sanctions blocking the payments ‌were based on existing ⁠national security and foreign policy interests.

Hellerstein appeared sceptical of that argument, noting that the US had relaxed sanctions on Venezuela since Maduro’s capture.

“The defendant is here, Flores is here. They present no further national security threat,” Hellerstein, a judicial appointee of Democratic president Bill Clinton, said.

“The right that’s implicated, paramount over other rights, is the right to constitutional counsel.”

Maduro lawyer Barry Pollack, who represented WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, has said he wanted to withdraw from the case if Hellerstein did not dismiss the charges and the Venezuelan government could not pay his fees.

It was unclear how much Pollack is charging Maduro for his services.

‘Additional cases’

On Thursday, US President Donald Trump told reporters ⁠that additional cases would be brought against Maduro, without offering details.

US special ‌forces captured Maduro and Flores in a surprise 3 January raid on their Caracas residence and flew them to New York to face drug trafficking charges.

Maduro was transported from the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn to the federal courthouse in lower Manhattan early on Thursday.

Outside the courthouse, police separated dozens of Maduro opponents — one holding an effigy of Maduro in an orange jumpsuit — from dozens of pro-Maduro demonstrators holding signs reading “Free President Maduro”.

Maduro and his wife said that under Venezuelan law and custom, the government paid the expenses of the president and first lady.

Prosecutors argued that because the US has not recognised Maduro as Venezuela’s legitimate president since 2019, he and Flores should not expect the US government to allow Venezuela to pay their legal fees.

The prosecutors said Maduro and Flores could be assigned ‌public defenders if they could not afford their own lawyers.

Maduro faces four felony charges including narcoterrorism conspiracy, which criminalises drug trafficking to help finance activities the United States considers terrorism.

The statute has rarely been tested at trial, and two of four trial convictions have been overturned over issues stemming from witness credibility, a Reuters analysis of court records found.

Relations between Venezuela and the US have improved since Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro’s former vice president, became interim president after his capture.

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